A source of wedding stress can typically be found once you dive into your guest list. You and your fiance have an idea of who you want at your wedding, but your parents will also have their lists, especially if they are helping pay for your wedding. Here is the best way to go about your guest list.

1. Have everyone write down who they would like to invite to the wedding and then sit down together to go through the list.
2. Be realist as to how many people you can/should invite. If you've already selected a venue, this becomes easier as your limited based on their capacity capabilities.
3. Review the list and cut people who you haven't seen in years or don't even know you're engaged. There will be people your parents want to invite that you don't even know, just remind them why this day is special to you and that you want the guests in attendance to be people who mean something to you. They're excited about the wedding just like you, so understand where both of you are coming from.
4. Just because you were invited to their wedding 4 year ago does not mean you have to invite them to your wedding.
5. Inviting coworkers usually opens up a can of worms. If you invite one or two you may cause hurt feelings to those you haven't invited. Explain to them that you are keeping the wedding to close family and friends only.
6. If you're inviting single friends or family members and are limited to how many guests you can invite, adding guests to those who are in a committed relationship and no guest to those who would be bringing just a casual date is okay. Just explain to your friends/family that you want them to be there but don't have enough room/budget for everyone to bring a guest.

One more tip, keep all your guests names, addresses, etc in one spreadsheet. This will make it easier when you go to do labels, print envelopes or send the information to your calligrapher. You can also use the same list to keep track of RSVP and meal selections as they come in.